San Francisco Neighborhoods · Lower Nob Hill
Lower Nob Hill
also the TendernobSun zoneThe dense apartment-house district on Nob Hill's lower southern slope, where 1910s–1920s brick high-rises and old residential hotels stack up just steps from downtown, the cable cars climbing the hill above and a lively run of restaurants and bars at street level.
- Walkable to Union Square and the Financial District
- Cable cars on the hill above
- Historic apartment-house architecture
- Dense, affordable nightlife and dining
On the map
Open Lower Nob Hill on the map →The story
After the 1906 earthquake and the three-day fire that leveled the area, this lower slope of Nob Hill was rebuilt almost entirely between 1906 and 1925 with fireproof brick and reinforced-concrete apartment buildings and residential hotels. Rising three to seven stories, they housed workers and middle-class residents within walking distance of downtown, below the grand mansions and hotels crowning Nob Hill above. The blocks around Bush, Sutter and Post are now recognized as the Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 with 296 contributing buildings. Sitting between Nob Hill proper and the Tenderloin, the neighborhood picked up the nickname the Tendernob.
Things most people don’t know
An apartment-house district
The Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel District holds 296 contributing buildings, mostly three- to seven-story brick apartment houses and residential hotels rebuilt after the 1906 fire.
Rebuilt after 1906
The 1906 quake and fire destroyed everything here; the district was rebuilt almost entirely between 1906 and 1925 using fireproof materials the city newly required.
On the National Register
The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1991, and designated a California Historical Landmark the same day.
Cable cars overhead
The Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California Street cable car lines run along the crest of Nob Hill just above the neighborhood.
The Tendernob
Wedged between Nob Hill and the Tenderloin, the area earned the blended nickname the Tendernob.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Liholiho Yacht Club · 871 Sutter St
- Cocobang · 550 Taylor St
- 620 Jones · 620 Jones St
Bars
- Bourbon & Branch · 501 Jones St
- Rye · 688 Geary St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Cable cars run along the hill above: Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason on Powell Street and the California Street line. Muni buses 2, 3, 19, 27, 38 and 1 serve the surrounding streets.
Nearest hospital. UCSF Health Hyde Hospital, 900 Hyde St (about 0.4 mi)
Thinking about Lower Nob Hill?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.